Remember my blog from a few weeks ago when Ado's Mummy cooked an Indian meal for a white man for the first time - - that was me! .....here she is, Mary Romeo from India, seeing and playing in the snow for the first time!

Friday, December 30, 2005

Late teens.beautiful.Eyes full of chemicals.“You remind me of my Mother” she said when we first met.She hates her Mother.Years of using and selling crack.Court cases pending.

Getting respect was the challenge.No communication otherwise.Not counter punching with herwhen the ‘put downs’ came my way.Seeing through the smoke screenof nasty person-ness which is; ‘I am not able to be loved - so don’t try'.

Obnoxiousbut that isBehaviour.Not easy to love.Life of rejection.Once, only once, has she asked my opinion.No opinions offered otherwise, she is on the run from many impositions in her past.

Some great stuff on U2 dot com from the visuals designer with U2 on the road.I have met her and she is a great Level 5 Human. This comes fresh to me .......... lots more on the website ....

"Human RightsFor the Vertigo tour I was thinking that possibly we could revisit the Declaration of Human Rights, reviving an important piece of text for the time we are living in. It would also allow us to make a political statement without pointing any fingers. For this we needed the right combination of voice, person and emotion - it happened to be a woman from Thailand called Beng Kamsaard. She has an air of everyone about her, a timeless face. We shot a short film and edited it in New York and then put it into after-effects for our screens.I wanted to find a way to find a third dimension on this tour something akin to the effect that Willie got with the Pigi audience projections on Elevation. The concept was to project her head onto fog so that she is not only seen to be speaking on the screen but also seen to be hovering in the building. This fog concept was influenced by an artist called Tony Oursler. When we finally brought all the bits to rehearsals - the head, the smoke, the text, the audio - the band looked at it and some changes were made until we got the piece running now. It's quite haunting and a credit to U2 that they are fearless with their visuals in the show. "

We met the Sheilas in Covent Garden Hotel for pre-show drinks and then we hit the town ....

........ how can I catch you up with my hectic lifestyle ......... I will post some pics which speak louder than words and then I will click a few words about the feelings and the thoughts and the impact and the ........ so much ....... and thinking about you too ........ I am ..

........ how can I catch you up with my hectic lifestyle ......... I will post some pics which speak louder than words and then I will click a few words about the feelings and the thoughts and the impact and the ........ so much ....... and thinking about you too ........ I am ..

Yesterday was a quiet day.Did nothing much.Was the first day of space and slowdown after the Christmas build up and excitement of the days themselves.

Took the Sheilas home on Boxing Day and had a salad at Joy's before dropping off Ann at her home.

Zig is sensitivly stepping out in the snow with no shoes on.It is not deep snow - but everything is painted white and it has brightened the day.

Tonight we meet for drinks before we go see 'The Night of the Iguana" a Tennessee Williams Play. We hit the West End with the Sheilas and David and Willie our friends. We will have a bit of food and fun after - and then go on to sleep the night at Joy's. The snow will not hinder the plans I trust.

Soon - so very soon .......... it will be a return to work and pushing the frontiers of life ........ for now it is enjoying the slower pace and renewing .........

Got no new albums for Christmas presents ......... that means I have a list of stuff I would like but cannot get - all.Yes-but ........

I have posted a few pix from our Christmas. Was good and better then expected in lots of ways. Val, one of our friends is not well and was in hospital twice the week before Christmas - last week!

Also Joan's remaining Uncle, and Joyce (Mother in Law) lost her last remaining brother - he died on Christmas Eve. Uncle Bill was a Dunkirk veteran who never ever talked about the experience.

...... and a strange thing ....... on Christmas Day ......... Joy Ann and myself could not send text messages ...... we are all on O2 and received some - but only a few got out ...... seems there was a freeze .......

I am aware that every single one of us has differing circumstances. Feelings unique. Thoughts wide ranging. Relationships wondrous - but others unresolved ......

Saturday, December 24, 2005

My Sheilas are coming home for Christmas and that is a beautiful thing ......

... I am thinking how you may be and others who are working with you this Christmas - or living alongside you .....

This is my posting of Christmas Eve ....... I know my Norwegian friends Oyvin and Torgrim, with their families, are celebrating a day early - today - as are Anita and Tomek with their Polish tradition.

Happy beautiful Christmas to you and my friends working in Homeless Hostels today and tomorrow..... and you ........... whatever you are doing ..... whoever you are loving .....

Friday, December 23, 2005

..... coming home for Christmas ...... and here I am sending out THE BIG BOOK OF BLOBS ....... to the special humans who have ordered ........ there are still Wise Men and Wise Women today you know .......

love to you at this special time ..... may you have a time to breath deep and say a big thank you to humans and more .......

Dear Pip,I have been reading your wonderful "dips" into the Christmas holidays!Thanx for sharing!I have been looking to the numerous thrilling pictures and people andrealized that there is nothing more important than the fact toremember.To remember our friends,to remember where we started,to remember what we learned...to remember not to be afraid ofimperfections as they are our motivation to dream, jump higher, runfaster, love more, search...And life rewards us with all the"Mysterious ways" of knowing and re-inventing ourselves!What I further believe is that part of our soul lives in parallelworlds, in all the places we have been, with all the people we met!And that makes us Transversal, beyond time, space, beyond the visible!

With my warmest regardsI wish to you a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!Please give my greetings to your family and closest people!

Marina

It is wondrous to receive such special and unique messages of love and finger tip touching ...... and she gives me permission to print here .....

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Christmas gift suggestions: "To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.' Oren ArnoldTo Vicky Pollard, a warm acknowledgement that she exists .....Pip Wilson

A True terrible story or two came out of the Bob Geldof in Africa Programme, second time around, which I caught late last night.

I have seen TV more than I would in a normal working week.He told stories and interviewed children about how they were forced to kill each other on instructions from gang leaders.

Another story is the slaughter of all male babies and how some families fled to escape ..... ending up with a label called 'Asylum Seekers'.

Yesterday I spent some time with Emanuel. Sounds a bit like Christmas eh ?I was in Costa Coffee with Xhevahir, who we all call James...... and we talked and talked and laughed and talked.

Both were - I will use these words which are such a terrible stigma to most humans in our culture - 'Asylum Seekers'.My 'catch up' with James was relating to the court appearance I did with him on October 7th this year.This young Kosovan man has been in the UK for some seven and a half years - five of them as a result of the failure of the Home Office to follow him up after he had 'leave to remain'.I said in my blog then -

"He is before the court to be deported - back home to an uncertain unstable society still working to become an independent state AND 47% unemployment.I spoke to the Court with one Judge presiding, a warm sensitive man with a duty to interpret the law - but follow it too. I spoke to the court on behalf of the Charity and also Bishop Sainsbury who is the Chairman of the National Youth Agency. Three other witnesses spoke strong , bold, sincere and heartfelt. All three British citizens from Kosovo".

The good news yesterday was - he has leave to remain for three years until the Home Office get themselves sorted. This is massive and we shook hands about six times in five minutes ......He can continue working now and not be caught in the cycle of poverty which is 'no work-no income-no work ..... good news for the poor.

James said

"I am glad inside".

I first met Emanuel and James when they came looking for a room at the Inn - a YMCA actually.They found food, and a bed - not a stable and not straw poverty.No English spoken - and I could only say "You yanni persson ebooko" in Albanian (You are a beautiful human person) Seven and a half years on we drink coffee and talk and laugh and ......... I feel the privilege of knowing them and feeling their joy.

Emanuel is now married to Shtrojera, which in Albanian means 'hiding in a corner to escape the wind' and they are expecting their second child any day now.

Coffee-laughter-coffee-conversation-remembering ........ Emanuel reminded me of the state they were in - as they escaped the horrors of Kosovo and on arrival at our 'Inn'. "We were traumatised" he said ........... I can remember them now ...... and the irritable catering staff member behind the servery counter - irritated because they just pointed at the strange food before them, instead of asking, and because they didn't say the usual seven 'pleases' which we say in such an exchange.A warm handshake and a smile ........ and strong eye contact was the means of communication in those days. We still do that but also we talk-laugh-coffee ............ and I love it love it .........

The second paragraph from the top of this blog is 2000 years ago.The paragraph above is in our recent lifetime.Connect the two and Christmas becomes more real ....... with feeling .......